Putting the
Community in
Policing
Professional Experience
 Chief of Police Since 1976
 Chair – IACP Community Policing
Committee Since 2005
 Instructor and Speaker on COPPS Issues
 Two-Time Winner – IACP Community
Policing Award
IACP
 Serving the Leaders of Today, Developing
the Leaders of Tomorrow
 Established 1893, Oldest and Largest
Organization of Police Leaders in the World
 Over 20K Members From Approximately 100
Countries
 59 Committees and Sections
 Focuses On Programs and Services,
Legislative Advocacy, Policy and Training
The New Normal
“ Business as usual”
…….. A term of the PAST.
COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY
 Who’s job is:
 Solving Crime?
 Preventing Crime?
 Maintaining or Enhancing Quality of
Life?
Shared Responsibility?
What did we the Police Do?
 For Years, we told the community to
give us more money and more officers,
and then to stand back and let us do
our jobs.
 IT DIDN’T WORK!
 By doing this, we took ownership of the
crime problem
CRIME IS NOT A
POLICE PROBLEM –
IT IS A COMMUNITY
PROBLEM!
Traditional Policing
 Incident driven
 Reacting to individual events
 Invoking criminal justice process
 Using aggregate crime statistics to
evaluate performance
Traditional Policing Strategies
 Preventative patrol
 Rapid response
 Follow-up investigations
 More Police
 Crackdowns
Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles for
Modern Policing
1. The basic mission for which the police
exist is to prevent crime and disorder.
2. The ability of the police to perform
their duties is dependant upon public
approval of police actions.
Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles for
Modern Policing
3. Police must secure the willing cooperation
of the public in voluntary observance of
the law to be able to secure and maintain
the respect of the law.
4. The degree of cooperation of the public
that can be secured diminishes
proportionally to the necessity of the use
of force.
Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles for
Modern Policing
5. Police seek and preserve public favor not
by catered public opinion, but by
constantly demonstrating absolute
impartial service to the law.
6. Police use physical force to the extent
necessary to secure observance of the law
or to restore order only when exercise of
persuasion, advice and warning is found to
be insufficient.
Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles for
Modern Policing
7. Police at all times should maintain a
relationship with the public that gives
reality to the historic tradition; the Police
are the public and the public are the police.
The police being only those full time
individuals charged with the duties that
are incumbent on all citizens in the
interest of community safety.
Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles for
Modern Policing
8. Police should always direct their actions
strictly towards their functions and never
appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.
9. The test of police efficiency is the absence
of crime and disorder, not the visible
evidence of police action in dealing with it.
C.O.P.P.S.
“Community Policing is a systemwide philosophy and management
approach which promotes
community, government and police
partnerships to engage in pro-active
problem solving to address causes
of crime, fear of crime and other
shared community issues.”
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Community Policing Core
Components
 Building Community Partnerships as a Force
Multiplier
 Problem Solving as a proactive strategy for
reducing crime and disorder
 Organizational Transformation to support
new strategies
Community Policing
 Balances reactive responses to calls for service with
proactive problem-solving centered on the causes of
crime and disorder.
 Requires police and citizens to join together as
partners in the course of both identifying and
effectively addressing issues.
What Community Policing IS:
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Philosophy and Organizational Strategy
Commitment to Community Empowerment
Decentralized and Personalized Policing
Immediate and Long Term Proactive Problem Solving
Ethics, Legality, Responsibility and Trust
Expanding the Police Mandate
Helping those with Special Needs
Grassroots Creativity and Support
Internal Change
Building for the Future
What Community Policing IS NOT:
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A technique or a program
Public relations
Anti-technology
Soft on Crime
Flamboyant
It is not Foot Patrol or Riding a Bicycle
An independent, separate entity or unit within the
department
 Merely cosmetic
 A top-down approach
 Just another name for social work
Principles of C.O.P.P.S.
 Reassesses who is responsible for public safety and
redefines the roles and relationships between local
government and the community.
 Requires shared ownership, decision making, and
accountability, as well as sustained commitment from
both the local government and the community.
 Establishes new public expectations of and
measurement standards for police and government
effectiveness.
 Increased understanding and trust between police and
community members.
Principles of C.O.P.P.S.
 Empowers and strengthens community-based efforts.
 Requires constant flexibility to respond to all emerging
issues.
 Requires an on-going commitment to developing longterm and proactive programs/strategies to address the
underlying conditions that cause community problems
 Requires knowledge of available community resources
and how to access and mobilize them, as well as the
ability to develop new resources within the
community.
Principles of C.O.P.P.S.
 Requires buy-in of the top management of the police
and other local government agencies, as well as a
commitment from all levels of management.
 Decentralizes police and other government services,
operations, and management. Encourages innovative
and creative problem solving by all – making greater
use of the knowledge, skill and expertise throughout
the organization.
Principles of C.O.P.P.S.
 Shifts the focus of work from responding to individual
incidents to addressing problems identified by the
community and the police, emphasizing problem
solving approaches to supplement traditional methods
of governing.
 Requires commitment to developing new skills
through training (e.g., problem-solving, networking,
mediation, facilitation, conflict resolution, cultural
competency/literacy).
Community Partnership
Community Partnership must include:
1. Positive relationships with the
community.
2. Community involvement in the quest
for better crime control and prevention.
3. Pooled approaches to address
community members’ most urgent
concerns.
4. Shared responsibility for finding
workable solutions to problems that
detract from community safety and
security.
Community Partnership
Four keys to the Community
Partnership equation:
1. Community contact
2. Communication
3. Trust
4. Information exchange
Establishing Trust
 It is easier to Trust Someone You Know
 You can’t get to know someone Without Contact
 Requires the Involvement of all Agency Employees
 Requires the Agency to Become an Integral Part of the
Community Culture
 Requires Transparency, Openness and Accountability
 Requires Respecting Culture and Individuals
Benefits of Collaborative
Partnerships
 Offers a comprehensive way to address a problem
 Increases coordination among public agencies and the
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community
Represents the needs of all facets of the community
Establishes a broad base of program support
Viewed positively by funding sources
Increases available information
Fosters the feeling that we are not alone
Problem Solving
“Houston -- We’ve got a
problem.”
Apollo 13 Commander James Lovell
“Okay, let’s work the problem
people, let’s not make it
worse by guessing.”
Houston Space Center Ground Leader
Problem Solving
Theory of Problem Oriented Policing:
• Underlying conditions create problems.
• A problem created by these conditions may
generate one or more incidents.
• These incidents, some or all of which come to
the attention of the police, are symptoms of the
problem
• The incidents will continue so long as the
problem that creates them persists.
• In partnership with the community, Police
officers gather information to get a clear picture of
the problem, then address the underlying
conditions.
Problem Solving
Problem Solving is best defined
by its parts:
1. Identifying crime, disorder and fear
problems.
2. Understanding the conditions that
give rise to these problems.
3. Developing and implementing longterm solutions tailored to the problems.
4. Determining the solution’s impact
on the problems.
Problem Solving
10 percent of offenders
account for 55 percent of
crimes.
10 percent of victims account
for 42 percent of
victimization.
10 percent of the locations
account for 60 percent of the
calls for service to police.
Problem Solving
The SARA Model:
Scanning - Group individual, related incidents
as “problems” and define these problems in
more precise and useful terms.
Analysis - Information is collected from a
variety of public and private sources, not just
police data, to illuminate the underlying nature
of the problem.
Response - Work with citizens, businesses,
public and private agencies, officers tailor a
program of action that may go beyond
traditional criminal justice remedies.
Assessment - The impact of the response is
determined to see if the problem was solved or
alleviated.
Problem Solving Advantages
 Utilizes Officer Expertise and Creativity
 Greater Community Involvement/Resources
 Information Resources Expand
 Reduces Negative Labeling and Finger Pointing
 People Work Toward Mutual Goals
 Positive Roles for the People with the Problem
 Shares Ownership of the Problem
 Solutions are More Effective When Developed
Together in Partnership
Community Governance
 Community Policing is not just for the police.
 Seamless municipal government service model that is
highly effective in addressing community issues and
increasing citizen satisfaction.
 Coordinated approach to providing city services and
solving community problems.
 Based on COP principles, other government agencies
are called on for their abilities to respond to and
address citywide issues.
Community Governance Cont.
 Community based organizations are brought in to
address issues of common concern.
 Support and Leadership of elected officials is vital.
 Organizational and cultural changes take place in all
these agencies to promote proactive public service
models based on the principles of partnerships and
problem-solving.
WHAT ABOUT???
 Data Driven Policing
 Hot Spot Policing
 Intelligence Led Policing
 (Insert New Buzzword Here) Policing
 Etc.
 Etc.
These are all tactics and strategies to address
crime that are not effective without
partnerships, stakeholders, problem solving,
outreach and trust; the basic components of
community policing.
Community Policing is the overall philosophy
that all of these tactics and strategies must
operate under.
Community Policing Committee
 30 Members From Law Enforcement, Academia,
City Management, Business
 Partners From Federal Agencies
 IACP Has Adopted 3 Resolutions Encouraging
Members to Utilize the Philosophy of Community
Policing in the Delivery of Police Services,
Prevention of Crime, Preservation of Homeland
Security, and Establishment of Trust With Their
Communities
MISSION
 Studies community policing strategies and operations. Works to
define community policing and create standardized criteria for
agencies employing it; formulate model policies and procedures
for community police operations; sponsor, evaluate, and publish
community-oriented policing research; coordinate and
distribute literature and other community police resource and
reference materials; develop and distribute community policing
training curriculum and other learning materials for all levels of
police personnel; compile a network of professional law
enforcement and academic experts and contact persons on
community policing; identify, reward, and portray as models
agencies that have successfully implemented communitypolicing programs; and establish links with non-law enforcement
social and human service agencies toward enhanced
communication, training, and mutual problem solving.
WHAT WE DO
IACP AND CISCO CP AWARDS
 One of the Oldest and Most Prestigious IACP Awards
 Presented Since 1998
 Recognizes Best Practices in Community Policing
Around the World
 5 Different Population Categories
 Homeland Security Recognee
 Over 60 Winners and 120 Finalists Recognized
HAMILTON ONTARIO CANADA
POLICE SERVICE
BOISE IDAHO POLICE DEPT.
ABINGTON TOWNSHIP
PENNSLYVANIA POLICE DEPT.
MANKATO MINNESOTA
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY
VAIL COLORADO
MADISON CITY ALABAMA
ST. LOUIS PARK MINNESOTA
DULUTH MINNESOTA
DAYTON OHIO
GRAND PRAIRIE TEXAS
HONG KONG CHINA
COLORADO STATE PATROL
WHAT PROBLEMS ADDRESSED?
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Working with Immigrants and Refugees
Community Oriented Governance
Youth Services
Working With The Mentally Ill
Business Loss Prevention
Text To Protect Communication With School/Youth
Sexual Assault Victims
Nuisance Abatement
Metal Thefts
On and On and On
TRAINING WORKSHOPS
 2014 – Has Your State Drug Policy Gone Up In Smoke? The
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Real Story Of What Every Police Chief Needs To Know
2013 – “Newtown, Aurora, Oslo, Sanford, et.al: Strategies to
help Prevent, Deter, Respond, and Recover from Critical
Incidents and Threats in Your Community”
2012 – Pro-Immigration or No-Immigration? Effective
Strategies That You Can Use in Your Community to
Address Crime, Build Trust and Counter Radicalization
2011 – Policing in the New Normal – New Economics, New
Opportunities, New Strategies: Balancing services to
address community, crime and terrorism
2010 – Fort Hood Attack – Endangerment By Failing To Act
WWW.IACPCOMMUNITYPOLICING.ORG
 Committee Website
 Submit Community Policing Award Applications
 Committee Judging
 Blog About Community Policing
 Community Policing News Feed
 Community Policing Resources
 In Process of Redesign To Transition To Include Social
Media Site For Community Policing Practitioners
$50K COPS GRANT
 21st Century Community Policing
 Analysis of Best Practices To Showcase Modern,
Innovative, and Cost-Effective Solutions to Crime
Problems
 Engage Social Media To Share These Best Practices
Through Modern Technology – Facebook, Twitter,
Community Policing “Ted Talks”, YouTube Videos,
Blogs
 Offer Resources, Tools, Technical Assistance
Other Committee Activities
 Produces and Reviews Articles on Community Policing
For Police Chief Magazine, Online News, Other Sites
 Training – Members Have Trained Agencies Around
North America
 Outreach – Committee Members Host Delegations
From Other Countries To Learn About C.P.
 Represents IACP on Various Panels/Task Forces
Dealing With Current Issues
OUR CHALLENGE TO
LAW ENFORCEMENT:
If what you are doing
does not have a
positive impact or result;
STOP doing it or
do it differently – NOW!
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THANK YOU
Todd A. Miller
Cell: 507-340-2804
tmiller@city.mankato.mn.us
RESOURCES
www.iacpcommunitypolicing.org
www.cops.usdoj.gov
www.umcpi.org
www.popcenter.org
www.theiacp.org